Two Sides of a Coin
by From B2A
Summary: A man who was once a more-than-formidable opponent passes the gauntlet to his son.  Will he live up to expectations? Beyond them? Or will his life get this ten year-old down before he even gets started living it? *JOHTO; LOOSELY based on Pokemon*
1. Once Upon a Time

_**Author's Note:**_** I just want you guys to know, starting this off, that I'm glad you decided to look here. ^_^ I would also like to note that this will *NOT* exactly follow the rules of the average Pokémon game or movie or show, fights between trainers will be one vs. one or double, yes, but in large battles there may be three vs. one wild or even more, making it possibly hectic, but hopefully not so much. Because in reality, not game reality, but logically thinking (yes, I know it's Pokémon ;) ), could a Ninetales single-handedly take down the all-powerful Lugia alone? No, it would take a lot of power, so you need multiple fighters. I know this is long, but I'd also like to add, Pokémon, to me, are not immortal and do not faint when they're hit extremely powerfully, but don't worry, I'm not going to make it violent or gorey, it just might not always be happy. Thank you for reading, please review after the chapter ^-^ Author's Notes will from now on go at the bottom. :) Enjoy.**

*RING RING RING*

"Uggh…" I moaned, why was the phone ringing so early in the morning? "Do they know what time it is?" I questioned angrily before seeing the clock beside my bed, it read 12:30PM. "Oh, hell!" The sheets were off of my body in seconds and I swiped the pokégear from the bedside table and clicked the answer button. "Hello, this is Daniel, who is this?" My voice was firm as I answered the phone, although I had just woken up.

I recognized the voice from the other line quickly, although it had been about fifteen or twenty years since I'd last heard it. It was one of the Kimono Girls from Ecruteak City, one of the ones who had taken me to fight Lugia so long ago, as he had challenged me. She had, obviously, aged quite a lot since we had last spoken, and though I could not tell which girl she was, it was clearly one of them.

"Uh-huh…" I muttered into the phone, "Yeah… Yeah I get it… N- But- I haven't- It's been at least ten- No, I ca- Listen! I can't do that… Isn't there another trainer? I haven't done any fighting with them in so long, there's no way I can take down Lugia again after all this time… No? Nobody else? Absolutely no other trainer would be strong enough? Hmph… How do you kn- Oh, so you think he won't even battle unless it's a rematch… Shame? I don't think that has anything to do with it… Fine, meet me in Cianwood City, in front of the Pokémon Center and we'll discuss this there."

I slammed the gear shut and set it down on the table with more force than intended. I slid on a pair of faded black jeans, making them take the place of the gym shorts I had worn to bed. I slowly went down the stairs after donning a plain white T-shirt and royal blue baseball cap. I wore the hat to cover my matted hair, but it was torn along the bill in a few places due to the years of wear and tear. I had gotten it when I started my first adventure and hadn't gotten a new hat since, it was sentimental. Once I got downstairs I saw a sleeping Jolteon under the table in my kitchen, where he always was. Soon after I started my morning coffee brewing in the pot, I heard the familiar scratch of talons on the roof as my Pidgeot began to stir. A loud splash emanated from outside my window, which faced the small pond that lead to Victory Road and Indigo Plateau. Kingdra had woken up, most likely, an hour before and somehow always knew when I woke up. On the couch, in her nearly-arrogant, but not quite, attitude, lay my cream-coloured fox. She was a Ninetales, and one of my closest Pokémon. Outside, a place where there was never a loss of work for him, was my Rhydon. Professor Elm always needed help moving something and he found Rhydon to be a great help. Lucario used to be on my team as well, he was beloved by the town and they had known him since I'd gotten him as a Riolu.

Professor Elm had gotten him as a gift from a friend of his from Sinnoh, and entrusted me with him. He lived long and healthy, my only regret is that I spent less time training and battling, and a little more time with him, I hadn't realized he would not live to be as old as a Ninetales or Rhydon, my team relatively all had long life-spans in years, except Lucario. Lucario had been my closest companion, then Ninetales after him, they both followed me everywhere, and Ninetales still does, she is as energetic as the day she evolved from a Vulpix. Lucario was special to me, and the town was sad to see it happen, but more sad to see me in spiraling depression for the year to follow, it had been three years since it happened, and though I still missed him, I had accepted the fact that Lucario was gone.

Just then, a ten year-old boy, Alex, bounded down the steps. He had his mother's brown eyes, but my chestnut brown hair. He looked at Jolteon, his face full of happiness and readiness to take on the new day, "Mornin' Sparks!" His enthusiasm astounded me each morning, and the electric dog happily obliged to walk over and rub against his leg. The boy gave a small whistle and called, "Here, Dash." Ninetales instantly woke from her 'sleep' and ran to the boy, who patted her head in return. Since he could talk, Alex had remembered the names of all my Pokémon, by nickname even. He used to go over them out loud to himself, Rhydon was Charge, Kingdra was Bubbles, Pidgeot was Flit, he had known Lucario as nothing but Defender, in fact, he never even knew that Lucario, as a Pokémon, could be called something else. His name wasn't a pleasant or fun one, but I always felt it fit him.

John, my older brother, followed Alex down the stairs moments later. He and I looked a lot, but were extremely different in other ways, it was the detail between us that people used to confuse and mix our names up. He had moved in soon after Alex's mother died of child birth, it was a hard time for all of us, but John helped me get through it and has helped watch over Alex since. He grabbed himself a cup of coffee, just as I had, and began to sip. "Mornin' Danny."

"Mornin' John, how'd you sleep?" I asked, making small talk as we sipped. He merely shrugged while Alex entertained himself with Dash and Sparks while we spoke. "John, do you remember, about twenty years ago… When Lugia challenged me?"

John nodded, he was surprised, but didn't show it, seeing as the Lugia story was one I didn't like to discuss and rarely brought up. It made me feel like I was trying to boast, so I just pretended like it didn't really happen all that amazingly.

"Well," I began, "One of those Kimono girls called me this morning… He's back… She thinks he wants a rematch, I doubt it, but she won't let me not go."

John sighed, it had really been twenty years since my Pokémon saw any real challenging battle, but he still didn't like it. "Dan, you can't possibly… He'd be stronger…"

"I have to. I just need you to watch Alex today and maybe part of tomorrow, okay? I'll be back." John nodded, knowing that I wouldn't take no for an answer. I set my coffee down and approached my son, "Alex?" The boy looked up, mindlessly petting Dash and Sparks and nodded with a raised eyebrow. "I have to go out for a while, I'll be back tomorrow or the next day, okay bud? Dad's got some business to take care of." I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Okay! Just be back before the professor gets any starter Pokémon, I don't want you to miss me getting mine!" He was eager, almost bouncing up and down with excitement, and I could tell.

I rubbed his head and laughed, "Alright, I won't." I smiled and opened a drawer in the counter; it contained the pokéballs I hadn't used in years for my Pokémon. I held up one and Sparks disappeared into the ball and Dash instantly bolted to my side, knowing what was going on. I snapped Sparks's ball on my belt before going outside. Two more balls withdrew Bubbles and Flit before they were snapped to my belt as well. Finally, I entered the lab, and added Charge to my belt, a team of five to fight Lugia, I barely felt ready. "Professor," I asked, trying to get his attention.

Prof. Elm grinned when he turned around and saw me, "Daniel! Great to see you, thanks for all the help that Charge gives us, it really improves progress around here."

"I have to… Go take down Lugia again. One of the girls called, she wouldn't let me get out of it, and she thinks he's here for a rematch, but that's not what I think. I don't know though, I'm going to meet them now." I was reluctant to go, and Professor Elm didn't seem too happy by the news either, but he understood why.

I walked out of the lab with a goodbye and withdrew Ninetales before releasing Flit. "Flit, can you still get me to Cianwood?" The Pidgeot nodded and called its name into the sky before allowing me to mount and grab some feathers on his back. Seconds later, he bolted from the ground to the east. I spent a few moments getting used to the ride again, we were on our way. I didn't want to be going through all of this again, but I feared what Lugia would do if I didn't fight him.


	2. Expect the Unexpected Part I

"Caww!" Pidgeot called as we touched the sand of Cianwood City. I climbed off and a flash of red light returned the majestic bird to its Pokéball. Another burst of light, white this time, revealed Dash, sitting in her graceful beauty.

The Kimono Girl stepped out of a nearby house and twirled her way to Dash and I. "Hello, Daniel. Are you prepared?" I merely nodded and put my left hand in the same pocket. "Good." Her face had visibly aged, her hair was graying and her sisters weren't nearby.

"Where are the other girls?" I asked curiously, as Dash rubbed her head against my hip affectionately. The mystic fox hadn't aged since her evolution, which made sense because Ninetales was one of the few Pokémon that averaged a much longer lifespan than their Trainers.

"They... Asked me to be the only one to come, the dance wasn't necessary and it's getting harder for us all to travel together." She shrugged, "I actually volunteered, but that's not important."

I nodded in understanding before turning around and tossing a Pokéball into the air where it released a massive blue seahorse-like Pokémon. Bubbles called into the air, happy to be out once more. He swam around the water for a moment before I climbed onto his back, the Kimono Girl followed. Ninetales stood at the edge of the water.

"Wait, you're not going to call her into her Pokéball?" I laughed and shook my head before pointing casually at the cream-coloured fox.

A dark aura began to form around Dash as she lifted confidently into the air. The Kimono Girl stared in awe at the move. It had taken years of concentration for her to realize the power hidden within herself, but Dash had succeeded in learning to carry herself and follow me anywhere but in flight. I smiled, pride welling inside of me, it had been so long since it was necessary, but essentially my closest Pokémon had learned to levitate.

Bubbles cooed once more before slowly beginning to swim to the Whirl Islands, we were all concentrated on the fight ahead. As we strongly crossed the swimming pool of water, a roar from within the cavern sounded, it was nerve-racking, but I'd done it once before. We hopped from the back of Bubbles and I released all the others before withdrawing him. There wasn't any water until we were in Lugia's cave.

"Did you bring the bell?" The Kimono Girl asked, making sure I had everything I needed. I nodded and pulled it from my bag along with the Silver Feather before she asked. They were both contained together in a small black case, the wing clasped to the top of the inside and the bell in a foam pad at the bottom.

She nodded and we started down the long ramp-like path to the cavern. Upon entering the cavern Lugia roared and I released Bubbles to the water. The small platform in the middle of the cave is where I soon found myself, Dash beside me and the other four Pokémon were all in a line in front of me, ready to face Lugia. What we didn't see coming was when the massive dragon spread his wing and opened his mouth. The water from the bottom of the cave drew upwards into his gaping mouth, yellow particles also began to gather and the air felt as if it were thinning. A large orb had formed right in front of the beast's head, we all stared in awe and the Kimono Girl was standing on the upper level of the cavern, observing the battle.

"What... The hell?" I wondered aloud. I knew it would be a blast, but I couldn't move, something was holding me in place, just like the five other Pokémon.

With a roar and a thrashing head, the Lugia let loose a crossed-blast of Hydro Cannon, Aeroblast, and Hyper Beam. Somehow, I broke free of the Pyschic hold he had on me and grabbed Dash, holding her with my back to the blast. I saw as Charge flew into the wall, blasting a crater-sized dent into it. Then Bubbles hit the wall also, landing on the rocky ground. Sparks was launched before landing on top of Bubbles and Flit hit the wall and couldn't fly, the blast had injured it too much. He slumped to the water opposite the side of Charge.

I slumped down beside Dash, who barred her teeth at Lugia, her flaring red eyes full of malice. I put my hand to the side of her head weakly, "Dash, no. Get outta here... Alex and John..." I felt my hand fall limp to the ground and in a few final seconds, Dash rubbed her head against me before jetting from the room. None of my Pokémon except for Sparks were moving, Charge and Flit had sunk in the water, and showed no signs of coming up. The Jolteon barked and joined me as I managed to pull myself from the ground, he was determined to fight in the last feeble stand.

I looked down at him, "Sparks, no..." I didn't have time to finish before looking up into the second and final blast by the beast. For a moment I could see, sinking to the bottom of the water, an egg. It was purely white with silver streaks all around it, a deep blue "X" was on the front of it. I felt my back meet a wall farther away than I thought it would have been. Sparks yelped when he was sent off with me. As I plummeted to the water I saw a hole in the wall; Lugia had sent us through the cave wall. I hit the water sharply and had no strength to swim from the water, Dash was at the cave entrance and watched us get shot out. She began to howl and I saw her enter the cave, but I had no strength, there was nothing I could do. All my strength was gone and I watched everything fade to black, the last thing being Sparks as we sunk in the water.

* * *

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_**Author's Note**_**: Hey, this is a two-part chapter, part two will be in 3****rd -person, you'll see. ^_^**


	3. Expect the Unexpected Part II

"Grrr..." Growled an angry Ninetales from a rock. It let out a loud bark that was accompanied by Fire Blast, one of its most powerful moves. Lugia simply dodged and glared at it for a moment.

_Go, Ninetales. Go to the boy and be his companion._ A voice sounded itself in Ninetales' head, it was deep and slow, that of Lugia. _I am sorry, I was only trying to protect my baby... Please, do for young Alex what Riolu had done for Daniel._

Ninetales growled once more before responding telepathically, _Lugia, you have murdered my trainer in cold blood. You expect me to just leave and allow you to live blissfully?_ Malice filled the words that were going to Lugia who thought for a moment before responding.

_Ninetales... I will never live blissfully knowing full well what I did. But I have not long to live, my mythical friend, my time is fading quickly... I came back to set my egg, please... Allow my legacy to live on, and don't make little Alex grow up without his mother, father, or any of his father's Pokémon. I promise, it will come back to you in a positive way, my child will not hatch for several years... Your trainer... Ninetales, if you think I knew what I was doing... I was protecting my egg... In fact, the power I used is not one I could summon again if I tried. The egg has already sunk to the bottom and is hiding itself deep among the sand at the bottom. Please, allow me to die peacefully and go to Alex._

Lugia looked at Ninetales intensely for a moment before snapping his head to the Kimono Girl who was hiding behind one of the rocks on the ledge up high, Lugia concentrated for a moment, using some of his barely remaining strength to converse with her. _Tell the boy only what happened, he is special, moreso than his father, but he does not know it, and he will only learn of it when it truly matters. It is not your place, nor mine, to tell him who he is. I will die with the knowledge, for it is not the job of any but himself to tell him. Please, do not try to influence him in any way, take Ninetales back to him and explain how this all happened and why. Tell him I was protecting my egg and did not know what I was doing, tell him his father died fighting more valiantly than any other trainer could have thought. He protected Ninetales, saving one more life than would have lived otherwise._

The girl nodded in understanding, she knew of Lugia's telepathic ability. He looked with sympathy to Ninetales before letting out another bellow and shooting over the waterfall behind him and out of the cave. She could not help but feel guilt and remorse at what happened, for it was her fault he came at all. She looked to Ninetales, who continued to dash up the wall of the cavern with smooth agility. She landed beside the Kimono Girl, who wondered whether Ninetales knew or not, and decided never to speak of what Lugia told her. She looked at the fox sadly, who returned the depressive, glazed over expression. She looked at the cave exit and whimpered before the two walked out.

–

**Later...**

*Knock knock*

*KNOCK KNOCK*

*POUND POUND POUND*

"Hold on! I'm coming!" John called. He was too slow, the eager ten year-old boy jumped in front of him and opened the door to see a sad Ninetales and a Kimono Girl.

"Dash!" His face lit up and the mystic fox flew through the door to the boy, though it was not a happy bound. She rubbed up against his side and he happily stroked her back.

The Kimono Girl had some tears in her eyes. The boy did not notice, but John saw her and pulled her aside. "What is it? Where's Daniel?" He questioned her, wanting a quick answer. His voice was low and quiet, trying to get information.

The girl was stuttering, and her jaw quivered as she spoke in a hushed tone. "We... We got there... A-and Daniel was ready, h-he had a-all of them out... Th-they were a-all deter-termined to defeat Lugia a-again..." She had to pause for a moment as a tear fell to the floor, her stutter gradually got worse, "And something happened... Lugia drew power from elsewhere... A-a... And it... It... It blasted them all but Daniel into Oblivion, as it happens when a Pokémon dies. Daniel blocked Ninetales with his body and she survived..." The later part was easier to say due to the good news, she was almost happy to talk about the man's valour and generosity, "But... He sent her off to come to you and Alex before the Jolteon and he, the l-last ones around after the initial hit... St-stood there to fight... He sent them far and hard... Ninetales went back to f-fight and Lugia... Lugia calmed her somewhat... Told her to come to Alex I think, h-he... He said that the power was only one of protection for his egg... There can only be one Lugia in existence at a time, the egg will hatch... Hatch in a few years and the now-weakened Lugia will die with the new one's birth..."

John sat in awe and disbelief. He couldn't believe that Daniel was gone. His eyes stung and began to redden. He sniffled quickly before looking up at her, "He's... D-dea-" The man choked on the word, he refused to say it due to how impossible it was. All of his questions were answered but one, "S-so... Did Lugia apologize?"

Ninetales looked over and made a quiet bark to get John's attention. He looked over and she nodded, he was somewhat surprised at her understanding, but did not question the intelligence of the fox. The Kimono Girl looked down, "He was also commended by Lugia for his bravery... You should have seen his determination to fight to his last breath... I think he was happy, Johnathan..."

John looked down, "You can go, I don't want to put this on you..." His voice trailed off. Alex looked over curiously.

"Put what on her, Uncle John?" He cocked his head slightly in a quirky fashion.

The Kimono Girl looked at the man, "No, I was asked to do it." Her eyes were still read and her cheeks were somewhat wet and salty, but her face was set and knew she had to tell him.

She sat on the couch and invited Alex to sit beside her. After explaining with little description of anything but how brave and strong Daniel was, the little boy began to sob. She could not stand to see him doing it, his face buried in his hands and she tried to hug him close, apologizing repeatedly while Dash rubbed against his legs with her head.

The boy pushed the Kimono Girl away, "Go home. Go away. Now. Go back to wherever you live and leave us alone." He was muttering but she understood. The girl stood up and sadly left the house for Ecruteak City, her Umbreon was now following her close behind.

John and Alex sat together for a long time, minutes turned to hours and the depressive states remained for longer. The days turned to months. Months passed by on the calender faster than possible, the depression left alleviated. Time heals all wounds, but this wound was larger than possible for Alex and John and they couldn't seem to get that same bounce back in their step as they had before, even if their sadness had begun to inch away slowly.

_**Author's Note:**_** Hey guys :) Hope you liked Part II, please review and subscribe. Check out my profile, I'm sure some of you are Assassin's Creed fans, I have a Fic for it, and I hope I'm allowed to give my own stories plugs on my other ones. ^_^ See you in Chapter 3 (or 4, depends on perspective). I'm so sorry I forgot to post this, by the way... I've had it done and I just forgot to put it up. I'll try to be more on the ball next time, review, subscribe, do it please. ^-^ It only takes a few clicks.**

**~B**


	4. A Brand New Day

_Years went by and poor little Alex began growing into more than a boy. He and his uncle still wept now and again, but now they could bare to live life. Dash cared just as much for Alex as she had his father and hadn't urged him to take up his father's mantle, allowing him to live as he pleased. Alex was fifteen when his adventures started, though he was behind other children his age in prowess and experience, he had far more advantages on his side._

Alex slung a backpack over his shoulder, inside was just about empty, he had about 500 poké with him and his bag contained space for things he would gather later on. On his belt were five empty Pokéballs and his heart was full of new-found ambition. He had realized on his own when it was time to go on and actually do something, and he also knew that Dash, whether she admitted it or not, wanted to get out too. His shoes were new, his clothes were clean, and he had plenty of money for food. The young boy wore a plain white t-shirt under a leather jacket that stretched down his arms to his hands that were covered by black leather gloves. He wore a pair of comfortable blue jeans that had faded over time and use. Alex was finally ready, after so much time of waiting, ready to take on the world.

He gave his Uncle John one last hug before whistling up the stairs. Dash came bounding down the stairs to his side, around her neck was a midnight-blue handkerchief that she would wear when she fought alongside Daniel, and now Alex as well. A bright aura emitted from her somehow, making everybody's day even a little better. Alex gave her mane a quick stroke before stepping out the door, saying goodbye to his uncle.

He looked at the road ahead of him, he knew where to go of course, the problem was how he was going to get there. In his right pocket loosely lie his Pokédex for documentation of Pokémon. The boy looked to his companion and smirked, "You ready, Dash?"

The Ninetales nodded with enthusiasm, a confident smirk on her creamy face. She looked back at him for a moment, _I've been ready since the day I came back with the Kimono Girl._ Alex's eyes went wide as he heard her thoughts, "Wait, Dash? Can you...?" His voice trailed off.

_If I please, yes, I can communicate like that. But nobody knows that. Only you, Daniel, Lugia and I do. I do it because I so choose to do so, don't tell anybody,_ She knew of course that Daniel would never give away the secret, he was just a little shocked.

There was no response aside from an affirmative nod, confusion still striking the boy. One of his arms held his bag on his shoulder loosely and the other hung at his side while he walked with Dash. He was surprised to find no trainers around at this time of day and in this area. Then again, sitting in one spot waiting for challengers probably isn't something high on everybody's to-do list.

Alex's first step into the grass and a Pidgey flew right past his face and he jumped back, putting his arms up defensively. The Pidgey didn't slow down before landing on the tree off to the side, cooing at the boy. He looked at it and sneered, debating for a moment whether or not to capture it. Alex shook his head, deciding it wasn't worth the fight.

He looked at Dash who followed him easily. The wind blew her bandana about, making it match her elegant walking style. The adventures that were plentiful to come began here with this simple boy from New Bark Town who had had a harder life than he deserved. The world would never be the same.

_**Author's Note:**_** Hey guys, sorry this one is short... I didn't have much to put in and it was more of a transition chapter. Short doesn't necessarily mean that it was a wasted or unimportant chapter though ^-^ from here on out the story will be told from the First Person Perspective of Alex.**


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